Peat moss for potted plants in Veiled cage.

[MonoNatural]

Hello all,

Question about the use of potting mix, etc:

I know the general recommendation is to have a bare (paper towel) floor of Veiled chameleon cages so that they do not get impacted from eating substrate matter.

My veiled chameleon will seek out and munch up vermiculite, so I have resorted to covering the dirt in on his potted tree with green terrarium 'carpet', to keep him away from the dirt. I had considered re-potting his tree, but it's very difficult to find potting mix without vermiculite.

Can I just put a layer of regular Peat Moss (the powdery brown stuff for planting, not the actual strands of moss) at the top of his plant pots (to keep him away from vermiculite), or will chameleons eat that powdered peat moss also? I know there is such a thing as Reptisoil, which has no vermiculite, but it's expensive and a large portion of it is peat moss anyway. My main goal is to get rid of the green carpet on top of the pot.

My main question is: Do veiled chameleons compulsively eat powdered peat moss in addition to strands of moss, vermiculite, dead leaves, twigs, etc?

(1.5 year old male veiled, 4 ft Schefflera arboricola, also have a variegated Pothos in there.)

 

[Decadancin]

I have found covering the soil with rocks too large to be ingested the best way to prevent eating. Peat moss could be mixed into substrate, but on the surface it may encourage roots to grow up to the top, so I wouldn't do that.

 

[MonoNatural]

I have found covering the soil with rocks too large to be ingested the best way to prevent eating. Peat moss could be mixed into substrate, but on the surface it may encourage roots to grow up to the top, so I wouldn't do that.

Thanks for your response,

I have used rocks in the past for this, but I felt they created a falling-hazard for the chameleon...I kindof have things arranged so that everywhere that doesn't have vines or branches fairly low down has something soft on the floor to break his fall (he tends to stretch across gaps that are right at his limit, or grabs onto twigs that can't hold his weight)...so at this point I am hesitant to add rocks, but he is a bit safer now that he stays off the screen a little bit more.

When you say that peat moss could cause roots to grow up to the top, do you mean it can do that in some different way than regular potting soil that came with the plant? From what I've seen, most people with live plants in the cage do not have carpet over the dirt like I do, is there some root-related problem that arises??